Pink Frosting
by nashie-chan
Summary: Set sometime within “.07”. Peter and Claire discuss the meaning of cupcakes.


**Pink Frosting**

By Samurai-Nashie

_Disclaimer_: I don't own Heroes, so I can't save the world. Sorry.

Summary: Set sometime within ".07". Peter and Claire discuss the meaning of cupcakes.

oOo

"_Save the cheerleader, save the world_."

If Peter ever ran into that future Hiro again, he was going to seriously hurt him.

Would it really have been too much to reveal that the tiny, blonde-haired girl with the shy and beautiful smile had been his _niece_? It would have been a whole lot simpler trying to protect her if he had known that tiny little fact. But, no. Future Hiro wanted to be mysterious, and leave everything unanswered and up to fate, and now they were in this mess…

And, as he had asked Nathan after convincing him that yes, he was most definitely alive, how were they going to explain this whole business to their mother?

Not that she hadn't been keeping secrets from them. One major secret, who had been quiet and nervous ever since she had pulled out the glass shard embedded in the back of his head, had retreated downstairs after Peter chased his older brother into the library.

"_Talk to her!"_

"_I can't…it's just…"_

"_She needs to know that you're going to be there for her. Nathan – she's your daughter!"_

"_Don't you think I know that already?"_

After a few more minutes of arguing, Peter had left the older man to his thoughts. He knew his brother – as stubborn and arrogant as he could be sometimes, the Petrelli men both had the habit of wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Well, Peter wore his a bit more openly than Nathan, but it was still there. It would just take some time – everything was happening so fast.

Too fast. They were running out of time.

He trotted down the stairs, after pulling a black turtleneck over a clean t-shirt (and if ever found Mohinder again, he was going to demand exactly how the professor had managed to sneak him nearly halfway across New York, bloodied and dead, without raising any suspicions). Halfway down the stairs, he paused and sniffed – was someone cooking? The usual citrus smell that the housekeeper used to clean the wood panels with was not mixed with something distinctively…cake-smelling.

Jumping from the last two stairs, he strode down the hallway, past the living room where his mother was talking on the phone with someone in hushed tones, and towards the kitchen. He entered into the huge room…and saw the kitchen island covered in cupcakes.

Pulling out another batch from the oven, Claire didn't even seem to notice he was there, and after glancing once more at the dozens of pastries in front of him, he cleared his throat. "Are we planning on throwing a party?"

To her credit, Claire didn't jump. Instead, she calmly placed the tray of freshly baked cupcakes on top of the stove, and then slowly removed her oven mitts. She turned around, a small, hesitant smile appearing on her face as she saw her "hero" standing in the doorway. "No. I just felt like baking something. I do that sometimes when things get…" She trailed off and shrugged. "You know."

He did know. He sat down at one of the stools around the island, and looked at the pink-frosted cupcakes. There had to be at least one and a half dozen sitting in front of him, without counting the batch the blonde girl had just taken from the oven. "I didn't think we even had the ingredients to make all these…" He chuckled slightly. "The fact that we have pink frosting is…a little strange."

Claire scratched her arm, a slow grin forming on her face. "Yeah. This place doesn't seem to be…" She stopped, her smile disappearing. "I don't know – it's not very…" She bit her bottom lip, as if wanting to say something very important, but afraid of offending him.

Peter caught it, but rather than press the issue, he picked up one of the cupcakes and smiled gently. "Usually, we have a cook here. But after everything…" He paused, not wanting to finish that sentence. "Though I don't think she would ever consider making cupcakes. Pink cupcakes, at that."

Claire blinked at him, and then laughed softly.

"It was my mom's idea. Back when I was little. Whenever I had a bad day at school, she would always make cupcakes for me and my brother." She crossed her arms, a nostalgic smile crossing her face. "We were never allowed to eat the batter, but she always let us decorate them. She'd set up different frostings and sprinkles and…it was nice. It always made me feel better, you know? Like, every problem in the world would vanish or could be solved by just frosting a few cupcakes."

Peter absently toyed with the cupcake in his hands. "You're right. Me and my brother…well, we never took to the kitchen very well. Things in the microwave were the most we could handle." He shook his head at a memory. "We tried to make a cake in the microwave once…our mom was so angry with us. But Dad…he just laughed. He grounded us, but he did teach us how to make a cake the right way…"

"You guys were a little impatient?" Claire teased, the sparkle in her eyes unburdened, at least for the moment, with talking about her recently discovered father.

Peter laughed. "A _lot_ impatient. Nathan was so sure that we would get it right. I remember – it was a bundt cake. And we were going to make it, and have everyone in the house be proud. It just didn't…it didn't turn out so well. There was batter and flour everywhere. Mom never let us near the kitchen without supervision after that. She said she couldn't risk the house being destroyed."

"So did you ever learn how to make cake the right way?"

"No." Peter winked at her, and took a bite out of the cupcake he had been holding. "We started buying Hostess cupcakes at the store instead."

Claire stared at him, and then she began to giggle. It was quiet, still a little reserved, but it was far better than the lonely sighs and half-smiles that had haunted her since…

…since he had first met her.

Gesturing for her to take the seat next to him, Peter picked up one of the cupcakes and handed to her. He then raised his half-eaten cupcake to meet hers. "To the Petrelli's fascination with baked goods."

"And the Bennett's obsession with frosting," Claire finished, toasting him with the cupcake, before taking a bite.

And even though Nathan still avoided an evitable conversation, even though their futures still were uncertain, and even though the world still needed saving…

…for just those few moments, everything was okay.

oOo

**Author's Note**: (11 May 2007) I've been overwhelmed with ideas for one-shots. When exactly is this supposed to take place in the episode? I really can't tell you – whenever seems appropriate. I just wanted Claire and Peter to have a conversation that didn't have to be serious and "we have to save the world!".

Enter the idea of pink frosting.

- Nashie


End file.
